Pressable air cushion capable of being inflated and bled and a brassiere cup with the air cushion

ABSTRACT

A cup includes an air cushion, which has first and second plastic films, an elastic plate, a pressed component, and a short plastic film; the first film has an air inlet; the first and the second films are stuck together to form an air room between them; a flow guiding passage exists between the elastic plate and the first film to allow air to flow into the air room; the elastic plate has a recess portion, which can face a first direction to allow the cushion to be inflated, and which can face an opposite direction to allow the cushion to be bled; the pressed component is resilient and interposed between the air inlet and the recess portion, and can contain air therein; the short plastic film has a hole facing the recess portion, and an air outlet exists between the short film and the elastic plate.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a pressable air cushion of a bra cup, more particularly one, which can be inflated and bled; the cup can be in such a shape as to cover a whole breast, a half or three-fourths of a breast; the air cushion has an elastic plate with a recess portion; the recess portion can face a first direction to allow the cushion to be inflated, and which can face an opposite direction to allow the cushion to be bled.

2. Brief Description of the Prior Art

Certain functional brassiere cups can lift, enlarge and massage the wearers' breasts and make them look perky. Such cups usually contain pads, air cushions or water bags.

The inventor of the present invention developed a brassiere cup, and filed a patent application based on this invention in Taiwan; the cup consists of inner and outer cotton layers, inner and outer foam layers, and an air cushion; the inner and the outer foam layers are positioned between the inner and the outer cotton layers, and the air cushion is completely covered with the inner and the outer foam layers. The air cushion consists of an inner plastic film, a short plastic film, and an outer plastic film, which are joined together by means of heat-sealing. A holding room is formed between the inner and the short plastic films, and there is an air passage communicating with the holding room. The air cushion includes a pressed component, which is held in the holding room. The inner plastic film has an air inlet, which faces the pressed component, and which is exposed through a through hole formed between the inner foam layer and the inner cotton layer. A waterproof film extends from the inner cotton layer to cover the through hole. The cup is found to have a drawback: after the cup is put on the wearer's breast, it will form raised lines on its surface to become unpleasant-looking if the air cushion is over-inflated. Consequently, the bra will spoil the contour of the wearer's breast.

Therefore, it is a main object of the present invention to provide an improvement on a brassiere cup to overcome the above problem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A pressable air cushion of a brassiere cup in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention consists of first and second plastic films, an elastic plate, a pressed component, and a short plastic film. The first plastic film has an air inlet hole; the first and the second plastic films are stuck together at their peripheries to form an air room. The elastic plate is interposed between the first and the second plastic films, and has a recess portion capable of being moved to change direction; the elastic plate is joined at one end to the first plastic film with a flow guiding passage being formed between the elastic plate and the first plastic film to allow air to flow into the air room. The pressed component is interposed between the air inlet hole of the first plastic film and the recess portion of the elastic plate. The short plastic film and the elastic plate are stuck together at their peripheries with an air outlet hole being formed therebetween; the short plastic film has a through hole facing the recess portion of the elastic plate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be better understood by referring to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the brassiere cup of the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a front view of the air cushion of the present invention,

FIG. 3 is a view of the air cushion of the present invention under an inflating action (1),

FIG. 4 is a view of the air cushion under an inflating action (2),

FIG. 5 is a view of the air cushion under an inflating action (3),

FIG. 6 is a view of the air cushion under an air-bleeding action, and

FIG. 7 is a partial sectional view of the air cushion under an air-bleeding action.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, a preferred embodiment of a brassiere cup (A) of the present invention consists of:

an inner and an outer cotton layers 1 and 2; the inner cotton layer 1 has a through hole 11;

an inner and an outer foam layers 3 and 4 positioned between the inner and the outer cotton layers 1 and 2; the inner foam layer 3 has a through hole 31, which faces the through hole 11 of the inner cotton layer 1; and

a pressable air cushion 5, which can be inflated and bled; the pressable air cushion 5 is positioned between and completely covered with the inner and the outer foam layers 3 and 4.

The pressable air cushion 5 consists of:

a first plastic film 51; the first plastic film 51 has an air inlet hole 511, which is exposed through the through holes 11 and 31 of the inner cotton layer and the inner foam layer 1 and 3;

a second plastic film 52; the first and the second plastic films 51 and 52 are stuck together at peripheries thereof so that an air room 521 is formed between the first and the second plastic films 51 and 52;

an elastic plate 53 interposed between the first and the second plastic films 51 and 52; the elastic plate 53 has a recess portion 531, which can change in direction; the elastic plate 53 is joined at a first end thereof to the first plastic film 51 by heat-sealing so that an air guiding passage 532 is formed between the elastic plate 53 and the first plastic film 51 to allow air to flow into the air room 521 therethrough;

a pressed component 54 interposed between the air inlet hole 511 of the first plastic film 51 and the recess portion 531 of the elastic plate 53; the pressed component 54 is elastic and resilient, and it can be a sponge, a piece of foam, foaming object, rubber or elastic fibers; and

a short plastic film 55; the short plastic film 55 is larger than the elastic plate 53; the short plastic film 55 and the elastic plate 53 are stuck together at peripheries thereof with an air outlet hole 551 being formed between first ends thereof; the short plastic film 55 has a through hole 552 facing the recess portion 531 of the elastic plate 53.

The cup (A) can be in such a shape as to cover a whole breast, a half or three-fourths of a breast. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 3 to 5, in assembly, the air cushion 5 is positioned between and wrapped in the inner and the outer foam layers 3 and 4, and the inner and the outer foam layers 3 and 4 are positioned between and wrapped in the inner and the outer cotton layers 1 and 2 so that the air inlet hole 511 of the first plastic film 51 is exposed through the through holes 11 and 31 of the inner cotton layer 1 and the inner foam layer 3. And, a sticking film 12 extends from an edge of the through hole 11 of the inner cotton layer 1 to cover the air inlet hole 511. Therefore, the recess portion 531 of the elastic plate 53 of the air cushion 5 faces upwards to receive the pressed component 54, and the short plastic film 55 is closely in contact with the other side of the recess portion 531; thus, the through hole 552 of the short plastic film 55 is blocked with the elastic plate 53.

To inflate the air cushion 5, referring FIG. 3 to FIG. 5, first the user blocks the air inlet hole 511 of the first plastic film 51 with a finger after the resilient pressed component 54 is filled with air; thus, air can't flow out through the air inlet hole 511. Next, the user squeezes the resilient pressed component 54 repeatedly so that air in the pressed component 54 is forced to flow into the air room 521 formed between the first and the second plastic films 51 and 52 through the air room 521; thus, the air cushion 5 is inflated. Therefore, air pressure in the air room 521 will make the first plastic film 51 and the elastic plate 53 closely in contact with each other so as to block the flow guiding passage 532, and the air cushion 5 can't leak. The cup (A) can lift the wearer's breast, and make it look perky owing to the air cushion 5.

Air can be forced to flow out of the air cushion 5 when the air cushion 5 contains too much air. Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, first the user moves the elastic plate 53 so as to make the recess portion 531 faces downwards; thus, the short plastic film 55 is no longer closely in contact with the elastic plate 53, and the through hole 552 is opened. Therefore, air in the air room 521 will flow out through the through hole 552, the recess portion 531, the air outlet hole 551 between the elastic plate 53 and the short plastic film 55, and the air inlet hole 511 of the first plastic film 51.

From the above description, it can be seen that the brassiere cup of the present invention has the following advantages:

1. The cup can lift the wearer's breast, and make it look perky because it has the air cushion.

2. The air cushion held in the cup can be inflated by means of repeatedly squeezing the air cushion. Therefore, one can easily make the air cushion contain sufficient amount of air to lift her breast and make it look perky when she is wearing the bra.

3. Air can be forced to flow out of the air cushion when the air cushion contains too much air or before the user washes the bra. Therefore, the bra of the present invention has a smoothly curved shape, not having the same drawback as the prior art, which can't be bled, and will form raised lines on its surface to spoil the contour of the wearer's breast if its air cushion is over-inflated. 

1. A pressable air cushion capable of being inflated and bled, comprising a first plastic film; the first plastic film having an air inlet hole; a second plastic film; the first and the second plastic films being stuck together at peripheries thereof to form an air room therebetween; an elastic plate interposed between the first and the second plastic films; the elastic plate having a recess portion capable of changing in direction; the elastic plate being joined at a first end thereof to the first plastic film by heat-sealing so that a flow guiding passage is formed between the elastic plate and the first plastic film to allow air to flow into the air room therethrough; a pressed component interposed between the air inlet hole of the first plastic film and the recess portion of the elastic plate; and a short plastic film; the short plastic film and the elastic plate being stuck together at peripheries thereof with an air outlet hole being formed therebetween; the short plastic film being larger than the elastic plate; the short plastic film having a through hole facing the recess portion of the elastic plate.
 2. The pressable air cushion capable of being inflated and bled as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pressed component is a sponge.
 3. The pressable air cushion capable of being inflated and bled as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pressed component is a piece of foam.
 4. The pressable air cushion capable of being inflated and bled as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pressed component is a foaming object.
 5. The pressable air cushion capable of being inflated and bled as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pressed component is made of elastic fibers.
 6. The pressable air cushion capable of being inflated and bled as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pressed component is a piece of rubber.
 7. A brassiere cup with a pressable air cushion capable of being inflated and bled, comprising inner and outer cotton layers; inner and outer foam layers positioned between the inner and the outer cotton layers; the pressable air cushion being positioned between and covered with the inner and the outer foam layers; the pressable air cushion comprising: a first plastic film; the first plastic film having an air inlet hole; the inner foam layer having a through hole; the inner cotton layer having a through hole, which faces the through hole of the inner foam layer; the air inlet hole of the first plastic film being exposed through the through holes of the inner foam layer and the inner cotton layer; a second plastic film; the first and the second plastic films being stuck together at peripheries thereof to form an air room therebetween; an elastic plate interposed between the first and the second plastic films; the elastic plate having a recess portion capable of changing in direction; the elastic plate being joined at a first end thereof to the first plastic film by heat-sealing so that a flow guiding passage is formed between the elastic plate and the first plastic film to allow air to flow into the air room therethrough; a pressed component interposed between the air inlet hole of the first plastic film and the recess portion of the elastic plate; and a short plastic film; the short plastic film and the elastic plate being stuck together at peripheries thereof with an air outlet hole being formed therebetween; the short plastic film being larger than the elastic plate; the short plastic film having a through hole facing the recess portion of the elastic plate.
 8. The brassiere cup with a pressable air cushion capable of being inflated and bled as claimed in claim 7, wherein the pressed component is a sponge.
 9. The brassiere cup with a pressable air cushion capable of being inflated and bled as claimed in claim 7, wherein the pressed component is a piece of foam.
 10. The brassiere cup with a pressable air cushion capable of being inflated and bled as claimed in claim 7, wherein the pressed component is a foaming object.
 11. The brassiere cup with a pressable air cushion capable of being inflated and bled as claimed in claim 7, wherein the pressed component is made of elastic fibers.
 12. The brassiere cup with a pressable air cushion capable of being inflated and bled as claimed in claim 7, wherein the pressed component is a piece of rubber.
 13. The brassiere cup with a pressable air cushion capable of being inflated and bled as claimed in claim 7, wherein the inner cotton layer has a sticky sticking film, which covers the air inlet hole. 